Tuesday, February 8, 2011

by Mark Hertsgaard Houghton Mifflin Harcourt From the publisher For twenty years, Mark Hertsgaard investigated climate change, but it took the birth of his daughter to bring the truth home. Another revelation came when an expert advised that, without doubt, global warming had arrived, more than a hundred years earlier than expected. Now, with his daughter and the next generation in mind, Hertsgaard delivers a resounding, motivating message of hope that will spur activism among parents, college students, and all readers. He gives specifics about what we can expect in the next fifty years: Chicago’s climate transformed to resemble Houston’s; the loss of cherished crops and luxuries, such as California wines; the redesign of U.S. cities. Addressing problems we’ll face very…

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Wine growers on the Sonoma Coast and in the Russian River Valley face a nail-biting wait to discover if 2010 will be a great vintage – or ruined by rain.

A low pressure system sitting off California's north coast has created highly unusual weather conditions in the area this summer, with coastal fogs and temperatures in the 60s and 70s Fahrenheit, rather than the more normal 80s and 90s.

As a result, grapes have ripened slowly, giving the potential for exceptional quality – but growers are concerned that they might not be able to finish the harvest before the onset of October rain.

'We pride ourselves on growing grapes in the cool climate of the Russian River Valley,' said John Erbe, viticulturalist at J Vineyards & Winery, which farms throughout the Russian River Valley.

'But this cold summer weather has put the brakes on a harvest that typically would have already started.'

Speaking last week, Erbe said veraison was only now taking place in most of the company's Pinot Noir vineyards, leaving another 30-45 days before a likely harvest date, some 2-3 weeks later than usual.

But he added: 'Our concerns will ease should a warmer summer weather pattern arrive.'

Female wine drinkers overtake men — who still get the wine list

Only 13 women are certified as master sommeliers out of 130 worldwide.

Bloomberg News

By John Mariani

I was surprised to read that 53 percent of wine drinkers in the United States are women, according to the Wine Market Council. And last year, women matched men as "core drinkers," those who drink wine at least once a week.

That trend may accelerate if women heed the results of a recent survey of 20,000 women over 13 years by Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. The poll showed that women who regularly drink a moderate amount of alcohol, particularly red wine, are less likely to have long-term weight gain than non-drinkers.

Nevertheless, when a man and a woman sit down to dinner in a restaurant, it's usually the guy who grabs or is handed the wine list and chooses the bottle.

A U.K. study finds people who drink more than 10 days a month are less likely to develop the painful disease

A new study suggests that regular alcohol consumption decreases the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis and can lessen the symptoms of the disease for those who already suffer from it. The authors of the study, a team of doctors at the University of Sheffield U.K., caution that the results are limited, but the findings could lead to valuable new research for limiting this painful, often disabling condition.

Arthritis affects an estimated 1 percent of the world's population, attacking joints with painful inflammation. The cause is unknown. Moderate consumption of alcohol is known to help reduce inflammation, and previous studies have shown that alcohol can reduce the risk of arthritis in rodents.

The Crush Barrel Wine Market is the first of its kind to offer the consumers $10 instant rebate towards the purchase of wine. This one day indoor event takes place at Fort Mason Fleet Room Building D. Northern California’s premiere wine tasting & wine market, celebrating the Bay Area’s vintners, food purveyors, specialty vendors, live music and more. Lauic Paiva a Brazilian Singer & Acoustic Guitar Player, with a very sweet voice, she creates a delightful tropical atmosphere everywhere she performs, making everybody feel like they are on some beautiful sunny beach in Brazil.

Friday, April 23, 2010

ScienceDaily (Apr. 21, 2010) — Researchers at Johns Hopkins say they have discovered the way in which red wine consumption may protect the brain from damage following a stroke. Click on this link for the rest of the article

This blog entry by Steve Heimoff is a very informative discussion of wine reviews. It discusses how wines are reviewed: blind or open and shows how the wine industry is pressured by the reviewers scores. When a reviewer tastes with the winemaker at the winery and subsequently reviews the wine it is not an objective review at all. An objective review is performed blind (the reviewer doesn't know who produced the wine). Make sure you know how the review was performed and whether or not the reviewer purchased the wine or if it was given to them by the winery.

It is critical that wine reviews are performed blind in a controlled environment with purchased samples. This produces an unbiased evaluation of the wine.

As a winemaker I hold monthly tastings where we taste our wines along with others we have purchased in order to get a feel for the marketplace and our position in it. We do everything we can to keep it blind and unbiased, otherwise it is a pointless exercise.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Care about wine? Care about your local small farmers and vineyards? Please contact your member of Congress and express your opposition to House Bill HR 5034: The Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness (CARE) Act of 2010. At best, this is junk law; at worst it’s an end-run around the direct shipping movement. Wine Spectator states, “The battle over whether consumers can order wine directly from wineries is moving to the halls of the U.S. Capitol. Members of Congress yesterday introduced a bill (HR 5034) that could end direct shipping of wine and other forms of alcohol in the United States, or at least put major roadblocks in front of lawsuits by consumers and wineries trying to reduce restrictions on direct shipping.”

If you don’t know who your Representative is, click here to get the address and phone number of your member of Congress. If you want to send an email, check their individual website. (And if you’re not registered to vote, now’s a great time to contact the Registar of Voters to sign up. If you don’t vote, you can’t bitch. Just sayin’.) Make a Wine Harlot happy. Care enough to get friendly with your Congressman this week.

House Resolution 5034 is by far the most audacious attempt ever by America's beer, wine and spirit wholesalers to takeover complete and total control of the country's alcohol beverage market and, in the process, create circumstances in all fifty states that assure consumers only have access to the slim number of wines to which wholesalers decide consumers ought to have access. But perhaps most sinister is the fact that if H.R. 5034 passes, it will put out of business an entire swath of America's artisan wineries.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

It is time to escape and enjoy an evening of beauty and fun. For the first time, the Gala Benefit will take place on Friday night. This prestigious fundraiser will provide a valuable chance for participants to view and purchase award winning orchids from 50 national and international nurseries and hybridists. This glorious evening celebrates the mission of the San Francisco Orchid Society and their efforts to enrich the public through Orchids and Orchid cultivation. Monies raised at the Gala go to theConservatory of Flowers, the Helen Crocker Russell Horticultural Library, and a scholarship for a horticultural student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

A showdown is looming between grape growers and the agency tasked with protecting fish in the Russian River.

Russian River grape growers are collecting data to counter a nearing state decision on how to protect endangered fish from the impacts of water pumping for frost protection. Click on this link for the rest of the article.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Rielle wines will be pouring at the Petaluma Sheraton on Friday November 27th from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. We will be offering special holiday prices, especially on case purchases. We will also be taking orders for our gift packages.

We will be pouring at the Petaluma Sheraton every Friday through the end of the year.

Groups rally to show they can protect vines while saving water for fishSANTA ROSA – A coalition of farming trade groups and major winegrape growers in Mendocino and Sonoma counties plans to demonstrate the state water regulators at a meeting Wednesday that growers have made significant recent progress toward protecting fish while protecting their vines from frost, despite a new letter from federal fish wardens to the contrary. Click on this link for the rest of the article.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Mendocino and Sonoma counties face restrictions; Gallo may pay penalty; vineyard will demo conservation options..... A third consecutive dry year is heating up debate about water resources in California's North Coast vineyards; agriculture in general and the winegrape industry in particular are seeing increased official and public scrutiny of their water-use practices. A recent article in a Mendocino newspaper cast light on the controversy. Addressing "struggles with lack of water for agriculture," the Ukiah Daily Journal described a historical anomaly (or governmental misstep) that gives most of the water in the Lake Mendocino reservoir to Sonoma County, forcing Mendocino's Redwood Valley to purchase water from the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA). The article drew numerous reader comments, most of them vehemently hostile toward the grapegrowers who comprise Redwood Valley's largest industry, contributing an estimated $30 million annually to the local economy. Clic on this Link for the rest of the article

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Half a glass of wine a day may add five years to your life, a new study suggests. Drink beer, and you’ll live only 2 1/2 years longer.Dutch researchers followed 1,373 men for more than four decades, noting their eating and drinking habits. Men who had about 20 grams of alcohol daily -- equivalent to a half a glass of wine -- had 2 1/2 years added to their life expectancy at age 50, compared with men who didn’t drink at all, according to the research published today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Men who consumed only wine had twice as much added longevity. Click on this link for the rest of the article.

Friday, April 24, 2009

We will pouring our wines at the following fundraising events. These venues provide opportunities to support important community organizations, taste our wines and place orders at special discounts as well as receive free shipping within California.

Our wines will be poured at the dinner and will be part of the silent auction.The Great Chefs of Marin is one of the premier food and wine events in the Bay Area. Over 20 of Marin's finest restaurants prepare gourmet food accompanied by the wine country's finest wineries. Other libations include margaritas, martinis and beer. Bud E. Luv and Huey Lewis chair the event which also include live music, dancing, a silent and live auction. It is a black-tie event, held on the grounds of Fireman's Fund and attended by about 550 guests. It is the major fundraiser for Lifehouse, a non profit agency serving people with developmental disabilities in Marin and Sonoma Counties.

Since 1954, Lifehouse has opened the doors of opportunity and independence to individuals with developmental disabilities through life skill training, community integration, advocacy, referral and information. Our mission is to improve our clients' quality of life by providing a lifetime of compassionate support in an atmosphere of respect, inspiration and purpose.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed into law legislation allowing Kansans of drinking age to order up to 12 cases of wine a year to be shipped directly to their homes. Click on this link for the rest of the article.

SACRAMENTO — Jim Beall's first stab at a beer tax was downed last year by opposition and ridicule. Undeterred, the South Bay assemblyman is back at it — and this time, his proposal for a hefty new fee on alcohol may have a better, ahem, shot at passage.

Beall's Assembly Bill 1019 would slap a roughly 10 cents-a-drink levy on beer, wine and hard alcohol. And he's structured it as a fee, which can pass the Legislature with a simple majority vote, rather than a tax, which takes a two-thirds supermajority to be enacted.

Also possibly aiding his cause this time around is the fact that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year proposed his own nickel-a-drink alcohol tax as part of his budget plan. The governor eventually dropped the tax and his office said Monday he's not interested in revisiting it. But the fact that Schwarzenegger once was on board with the idea could bode well for Beall's idea, particularly if the state budget outlook continues to deteriorate. Click on this link for the rest of the article

Monday, March 16, 2009

A new piece of technology built in South Africa and being tested at various wineries around the world, including California, may have a solution. It uses ultraviolet rays to zap unwanted microbes and yeasts, reducing the need to add the sulfites that have traditionally done the job of preserving the wine - and making some people feel lousy. Click on this link for the rest of the article

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Sonoma County, Calif. -- Though Napa County was the first to require erosion control in new vineyards, Sonoma County has its own version. Last year, it updated the Vineyard Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance, or VESCO, first implemented in 2000. Napa's ordinance is generally regarded as very demanding; Sonoma's version is somewhat easier to comply with in many respects..................

Under the new rules, all vineyards and orchards more than one-half acre in size must meet a number of requirements. These include:

No planting on slopes greater than 50%. (It's 30% in Napa County.)

Setbacks are extended to unnamed streams as well as blueline streams, including 25 feet from the top of bank if it contains native vegetation, with no work allowed on this area. As an option, growers can maintain a 25-foot vegetated filter strip if there's no vegetation already there.

For developing new vineyards, differing plans are required depending on the slope and soil conditions.

Level 1 conditions are slopes less than 15% without highly erodible soils, or slopes less than 10% with highly erodible soils. In this case, the erosion control plan does not have to be prepared by an engineer.

Level 2 situations are slopes more than 15% with no highly erodible soils; or slopes greater than 10% with highly erodible soils. These require an engineered erosion control plan.

Study finds that a glass or two a day lowers risk by more than half

Drinking wine in moderation may offer protection from the onset of Barrett's Esophagus, a precursor to esophageal cancer, according to a study released Monday. Researchers found that subjects who consumed between seven and 14 glasses of wine weekly lowered their chances of developing the disorder by 56 percent. Those who drank beer showed no reduction of risk, and moderate to heavy consumption of spirits may raise the risk, according to the research conducted by Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif., and published in the March issue of Gastroenterology. Heavy consumption of any alcohol may raise the risk. Click on this link for the rest of the article.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

As the bushfire threat subsides and winery owners try to salvage vineyards, the world responds with aid. Twelve days after record heat helped spark a wave of devastating wildfires across Australia's southern state of Victoria, milder weather is helping firefighters win the battle against the remaining blazes. Meanwhile, the wine industry is beginning to come to grips with the extent of damage to vineyards, wineries and lives. Click on this link for the rest of article.

WineBev is a company owned and operated by United Cerebral Palsy of the North Bay. The business is designed to provide training and jobs for the developmentally disabled. “We are empowering people to be more economically independent,”..... In a 12,000-square-foot temperature-controlled warehouse, WineBev Services repacks wine into shrink-wrapped two packs, and four- and six-pack toters.....On a recent morning, workers were shrink-wrapping bottles of Beringer’s Meridian wines for shipment to Costco stores. The production line was purchased by WineBev after it received the $50,000 community grant from Foster’s. Click on this link for the entire article.

If you have ever agonized over the type of glass to use for a particular varietal check out the Riedel Wine and Glass Guide. They have made an art of pairing wines to their best suited glass. 90% of your experience with wine is inhaling the aromatics and that is what a properly shaped glass will help you do, as you swirl the wine in the glass it is volatolized and then concentrated in the mouth of the glass for you to inhale. This is especially important with Pinot Noir.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

A closure tasting was held Tuesday in Yountville, California at the annual Master of Wine seminar for enrolled students. The tasting was also attended by about a dozen Masters of Wine. Click on this link for article.

The latest from the office of 6th District Assemblyman Jared Huffman is that a potentially crippling state alcohol excise tax will be voted down this week. This new development comes as a welcome surprise to California wine producers, who braced for the worst in light of a proposed tax that would steeply increase fees per gallon of wine. Referred to as the “nickel-a-drink” tax, this measure would raise the state’s wine tax by 640 percent, with fees increasing from $0.20 per gallon of wine to $1.48 per gallon. The increase would reverberate through all segments of the wine industry, including hotels and restaurants. Click on this Link to article

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Rielle is pleased to be pouring our wines at Pick of The Vine Wine Tasting on 4/4/09 6:00 pm t0 8:30 pm at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. This event benefits Senior Advocacy Services and the Ombudsman program of Sonoma County. There will be 35 wineries, gourmet food, the Ian Scherer jazz trio plus live and silent auctions. We hope to see you there!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

The Governor of California is proposing increasing the alcohol excise taxes by 6 times to help offset some of the budget deficit. This will mean increased costs for the purchase of alcohol incuding wine. Check out the link below, I will post more information here as it becomes available.

We are experiencing a drought in Sonoma County and Northern California that may have serious consequences on the grape crop. Water is needed for frost protection as well as for irrigation during the growing season. At this point we are running out of water for both. I have a link below which gives more information.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Whether you are preparing Valentine's Day Dinner or want to send a special gift this Valentine collection will help you to stretch your dollar! Instead of going out to an expensive restaurant, serve our Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and gourmet dessert sauces along side our specially selected recipes for your romantic Valentine's Dinner. A little candle light, some roses.......

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

There has been a controversy brewing over the boundaries of the Russian River Valley Appellation boundaries. Click on this link for the latest update, including a map, you can go directly to the TTB website and read the wording of the proposal and then comment on it directly to the TTB. Grapes from the Russian River Valley Appellation have gone up substantially in price over the past few years, vineyards outside the boundary but only a few feet difference in location from vineyards inside the boundary are only getting 1/2 as much for their grapes. It is a complicated issue of soils, climate and $$$.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

NAPA, Calif., Nov 03, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- ReCORK America announced today the start of a recycling program to reclaim a small portion of the estimated 13 billion natural cork wine stoppers sold into the world market each year. The six-month trial will involve 25 Northern California Whole Foods Market stores, including Reno. Each store will have a convenient collection box situated in the wine department. Customers will be encouraged to add wine corks to their list of recyclable packaging.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

The findings appear in the Oct. 29 issue of Chemistry Central Journal. One glass of wine per day could end up more costly than you imagined according to Kingston University in London scientists Declan Naughton and Andrea Petroczi.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

We just placed our Rielle Wines 2006 Anderson Valley Pinor Noir, 2006 Anderson Valley Chardonnay and 2005 Sonoma County Zinfandel at Chez Christine in Carmel. We are very proud to have our wines served with Chez Christine's "simple, real, spectacular French cuisine." The restaurant is sold out weeks ahead, so be sure to make a reservation well in advance. For more information, and a review click on this link.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Rielle Wines is a great choice for your holiday gift giving. We have been hard at work finalizing our award winning wines and dessert sauces. We will offer gift wrapping and special prices. We can help you at a busy time and your friends and relatives will receive truly unique, hand crafted gourmet foods and wines that are available in limited quantities. Keep checking in with us to keep up dated on our holiday offerings.

We made a caramel sauce with our 2006 Anderson Valley Chardonnay! It is fantastic! So far we have had it on vanilla ice cream with strawberries and short bread cookies for dessert. My favorite is mixed with our zin chocolate sauce, chocolate and caramel is a winning combination. We are busy researching additional combos.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

We poured our two Sonoma County wines at the Taste of Sonoma tasting at the MacMurray Ranch in the Russian River Valley. It was a wonderful event to participate in, 2000 people attended and 130 wineries were pouring. I enjoyed the food from all the restaurants, bakeries etc...

The weather was beautiful, it was another amazing day in Sonoma County.

The chardonnay will be here soon and we are preparing the barrels. Each barrel is soaked up with water, checked for leaks and scrubbed clean. We will be barrel fermenting the chardonnay and want to get it off to a good start.

Harvest is just around the corner. We sampled chardonnay, muscat canelli, pinot noir and zinfandel this week and they are getting close. A couple of weeks for the chard and muscat, and 4 to 6 weeks for the pinot and the zin. We went to Napa to look at potential vineyards, it was 104 degrees, too hot, enjoyed the tour and had a wonderful lunch at Bouchon in Yountville.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Bodega Seafood Art & Wine Festival is happening today! Rielle Wines poured yesterday and the event was packed. Many great wines and micro brews. This is a very popular festival, lots of delicious seafood, many artists: photographers, painters, sculptors. Three performing stages. The headliner yesterday was Tommy Castro, he put on a great show. Here is a video link.

Great event for us to participate in! We enjoyed being at the Falkirk Center in San Rafael. Brought back memories for us ex-Marinites. Pleasant music, delicious food, creative and beautiful works of art made for the perfect venue to pour our wines.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Half Zapped wine tasting at the Vine and Barrel wine shop in Petaluma was the place to be to taste some fantastic zinfandels! Rielle Wines poured the 2005 Sonoma County Zin which was chosen by many of the tasters as their favorite wine of the tasting. We met many local Petalumans and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Downtown Petaluma has undergone a major renovation and is a great destination point with many fine restaurants and shops.

We all had a great time at the CigarBQ last Saturday. We discovered that our 2005 Rielle Sonoma County Zinfandel is a cigar wine. The combination the zin with chocolate and our favorite cigar (stick) is the bomb. It takes you to a new height! We had a lot of fun and made many new friends. John is already talking about next year.

Friday, June 6, 2008

We have been busy in the winery this week preparing the 2006 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir and 2006 Anderson Valley Chardonnay for bottling. The barrels were emptied very gently, without the use of a pump and protected from the damaging effects of oxygen at all times. Everything is ready, the foils, corks, labels and finally the glass bottles have arrived. Rielle Wines will be using a lighter weight bottle which will save fuel and other resources. The big heavy bottles are beautiful but the cost is just too much to the environment.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

We have been working on a very decadent addition to our product line, a chocolate sauce made with our 2005 Sonoma County Zinfandel. We hope to have it available in a few weeks. It is amazing on vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries or strawberries.

We will be bottling our 2006 Anderson Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir on Monday June 9th. Bottling is a busy time for us, when all our efforts come together into our finished wines. We are really looking forward to sharing these wines, 2006 was a great vintage for Anderson Valley and the wines are well balanced and full bodied with fresh ripe flavors. Great food wines!

We spent Memorial Day weekend in southern California, making deliveries in San Diego and participating in the Newport Bay Food and Wine festival at the Balboa Bay Club. We encountered heavy rain and some snow on the Grapevine. Strange weather but it cleared the skies and the air was sweet and fresh.

The food and wine festival was an elegant affair. Lots of great wines, gourmet food and a jazz band. We had the opportunity to make many new acquaintances and see lots of old friends.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

This Saturday was spent at the Tiburon Wine Festival where we enjoyed fine wine, weather, and food. The event was sold out and several hundred people had the opportunity to try our wines. The chilled chardonnay was a big hit!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

We just put our 2004 Russian River Valley Chardonnay on sale!! A great wine for the warm weather. We love it well chilled with an artisan cheese, like a Robiola or Humboldt Fog Chevre, complete the meal with some fresh baked bread and a salad of mixed baby greens with a drizzling of maple sherry vinaigrette. We only have about 80 cases left.

About Me

This Blog will chronicle our experiences in the wine industry. We are a new winery in Sonoma County and produce small artisan bottlings of Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir. We work with the elite growers of the Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley and Anderson Valley.